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Monthly Archives: December 2016

At the beginning of my career, I was a preschool teacher at a child care center. One of my most favorite kids (it happens, teachers have favorites) was a quiet, introspective boy who loved the Boston Red Sox and ate sushi with chopsticks for lunch. His family was in the United States temporarily and during my final year at the center, they moved back to Japan. On his last day, the last day before Christmas break, he presented me with a beautiful scarf and this piece of artwork.

It is one of my most favorite things. I’ve hung it in every office I’ve had, including the one I currently work out of at home. I love the detail he included, especially the brown flecks in my blonde hair. I can picture him sitting at his kitchen table, working on the piece, step by step, carefully drawing the outline before filling it in with carefully torn pieces of paper.

He really has a special place in my heart and I feel so lucky to have this little piece of his.

#Reverb16 Day 3 writing prompt: The Best Gift I Ever Got: We all remember That One Gift that gave us The Most Joy. Show us what that gift was for you and describe why it makes gives you all the feels.

So as I embark upon my 39th year, I’m determined to make stuff happen. At the risk of sounding cheesy, my someday begins today. #1 on my list — start writing. To kick things off, I’m participating in #reverb16, a project that provides writing prompts for 30 days. So here goes Day 1: Intentions. 1) What do I hope to get out of a month of writing each day? I hope to tune up my skills, or discover if I actually have any writing chops to begin with! I want to start a habit of getting what I write in my head onto a keyboard. 2) What is my favorite part about writing – the idea, the first words, the final sentiments? It’s actually making connections. Writing something that makes someone say “hey, me too” is my ultimate goal. I also love the cathartic feeling of writing a good piece. Thanks @abbyofftherecord for introducing me to this project.

I was too afraid to put myself out there. Too afraid to start up this blog again.

But today, here I am. It’s day two of #Reverb16 and The Amazing Races is back in business.

Today’s prompt is What keeps you cozy through the wintertime?

I hate the winter. I’m always cold and the early darkness makes me tired too early in the day. I get tired of keeping track of hats and gloves and leaving swimming lessons takes FOREVER because everyone has to dry off and bundle up. I ski just to have something to do but I don’t really like it. Once Christmas is over, I’d be happy to just go back to the warmth of spring or better yet, summer.

There are three things I am rarely without in the winter…slippers, a blanket and the space heater in my home office. Even once the weather becomes warmer, I have a hard time giving these up. Sometimes in the spring, I’ll leave the windows open at night when there is a chill in the air just so I can snuggle up on the couch.